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An extraordinary 12 hours. At sunset a Salvamente Maritimo (Spanish Coast Guard) helicopter had located a refugee boat with some 50 persons on board. We were just 15 minutes away from them and offered to…

How sad to farewell this remarkable man. Larger than life, he was filled with enormous energy, enthusiasm, practical skills and an irrepressible sense of fun. Why is it that people like him shuffle off, not…

Since St Petersburg we have encountered just 2 yachts. Both of them small Russian boats with modest outboards. It is quite extraordinary that such wonderful cruising grounds are so empty of yachts. So Priozersk came…

Talk about contrasts! We had not expected to find such a delightful anchorage last night and wondered how the monastery island of Konovets, our next destination and one of the goals of our Ladoga cruise, could…

On the western side of Lake Ladoga, Dalyokaya Bukhta (60 deg 34.33N/30 deg 40.88E) is a peaceful, forested bay, guarded by two spectacular cardinal marks. The water was glassy and the bay deserted but for…

Such a relief to leave the Neva headwaters at Schlisselburg, out into Lake Ladoga. Schlisselburg itself has almost nothing to offer cruising yachts but we found the cosy little retreat recommended to us by our…

Our journey upriver through St Petersburg was spectacular. We had rafted alongside a huge river barge and took on our pilot at 2 am. Blue Dove, the only yacht, joined a procession of commercial behemoths…

We caught up with old friends. I walked the town while Miss Perfect did her special Moscow things. The weather is balmy and our windows are wide open. Our neighbour, a conservatoire flautist, is practising…

A long, hot and windless trip from Tallinn finally, finally brought Blue Dove to St Petersburg. En route we stripped off for much needed douches in the Gulf of Finland. Sailing through the barrage into…

Haapsalu is said to have some of the finest mud in Northern Europe. Peter the Great, Catherine and Tchaikovsky came here for mud bath therapy. I, with my tedious trochanteric bursitis, should have indulged as…

Dogged by light airs and fog we crept slowly along the coasts of Litland and Latland, revisiting picturesque south Baltic ports – Liepaja, Pavilosta, Ventspils – before entering Estonian waters. Much has changed since Tainui…

Our journey out into the Baltic to Heiligenhaven from Kiel started auspiciously with a forecast of 12-15 knot NE winds, sunny skies and smooth seas. Blue Dove slipped along graciously and we were in good…

Halfway along the canal we anchored outside Rensburg, alone in a peaceful little bay with forested shore and glassy water. It had been a long 36 hours and we collapsed early to bed. Such a familiar feeling…

The Standing Mast Route through Netherlands is a trip worth doing. Once. Often very beautiful, but there are just too many bridges, locks and ditherings about. In Groningen alone there are fifteen opening bridges through…

Here in Hoorn old buildings are awkwardly tilted. Elegant young women cycle through cobbled laneways. Century-old, ponderous sailing barges still work out of the harbour, there are flowers everywhere and it rains often. All…

Back in Moscow with Maxine yet again. After Falmouth it is wet and chilly here, but our little nest is cosy. In addition to reconnections with friends, there have been Cartier Bresson and Brancusi exhibitions,…

Here’s an article about our Mediterranean refugee rescue activities, published in The Wall Street Journal recently. I believe its author misrepresents the position somewhat. My letter to the editor in response follows. This was not published by…

Falmouth is paradise for sailors. There are gaff rigged oyster smacks, pilot cutters and wooden boats everywhere. If only the weather were less odious and the tides (15′ + at springs) more manageable. Here, a…

Our 30 hour crossing of Cardigan Bay was the most miserable yet. Chaotic unpredictable seas and 25 knot headwinds played havoc with a stomach (mine, of course) well tenderised by a couple of bottles of…

Departing the Isle of Man at some unseemly hour we lurched down the east coast in an uncomfortable Irish Sea. Rounding Calf Island against foul tide we barely crawled past the lighthouse, which looked like…

At Rhu it rained but we were well cared for by Maxine’s Iceland friends John and Rosemary Brown. Splendid folk. After a seriously indulgent evening aboard Blue Dove we groped into consciousness to farewell dear…

Motoring north up Loch Fyne into Loch Gilp we follow the Scottish version of a Milk Run. At Ardrishaig you enter the picturesque Crinan Canal. Pasha and Tania loved its forested shores, the rich wildflowers…

When a boat is 40 years old you don’t buy her, you assume temporary custodianship. Overwhelmed with culture shock on arrival in Belfast, to my shame I neglected to mention the warmth and generosity with…

Here in Belfast it is grey and cold. Once again I have fallen between tectonic plates. I should go sightseeing but weather aside there is something unappealing about Belfast – the people are friendly but…